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A Tale of Heartbreaking Disappointment

Wednesday, 8 February 2012

A few weeks back I was preparing to tell you some BIG news. Something Joe & I had been working on for months and were so excited about.

You see, several months ago we'd been approached about a move that would take us out of Gabon and into our dream destination, Indonesia. This new location would allow us to travel so much more easily and the job would be a promotion for Joe which he was so ready for. We were invigorated at the thought of leaving Gabon and all of it's troubles and continuing our adventure on another continent. Anyone we spoke to loved their stay in Indonesia and raved that it was one of the best places to be an expat. We were sold!

We had to battle for this move. You see, this region didn't want to let Joe go but we pushed and pushed as we knew this was the move for us. This battle stretched over 3 painful months when, finally it was confirmed; we were being released and the move was approved. Joe & I were elated but until everything was signed we didn't want to say anything.

And then the phone call came...

The Indonesian government requires all expatriates to be 30 years old in order to obtain a work permit. We're 28. Our company told us they'd apply for an exception and while it has been done before, they don't make exceptions very often. We prepared ourselves for the worst and patiently awaited the verdict.

The decision came today that we were rejected.

I can't begin to tell you how disappointed we are. We had begun dreaming of our life in Asia and we were so ready to take the next step. Our hearts and minds began to leave Gabon as we prepared for our move. Now, our patience has worn thin and the thought of staying in Gabon indefinitely is just so depressing. (It's not even that we hate it that much but we'd started to check out and feel relief at all of the issues we'd get to leave behind here.)

So now starts the process of working out our next steps. What do we want to do? Where do we want to go? How much time are we willing to spend here? What is our top priority, leaving Gabon or finding an ideal location?

I can completely relate to this. The ups and downs of expat life and endless discussions of "where to next?" are both a blessing and a curse. I've had my heart set of several moves that didn't pan out and I really feel for you. Fingers crossed that some new adventure comes along soon.